Barbour improves omni channel proposition

Design

Upmarket clothing brand Barbour is improving its ability

to expand around the globe with an omni-channel proposition by rolling out a new retail management system from Cegid. Speaking at the Cegid Retail Connections 2013 conference in Venice Andy Cairns, UK director at Cegid, said: "International expansion was an important element in them choosing a new solution. We've a wealth of international expertise and we can support Barbour with their expansion into new territories."

Following a successful six month proof-of-concept trial at the company's store at its head office in South Shields, northern England, Cegid's Point-of-Sale and merchandising software is being rolled out across Barbour's 30-plus outlets in the UK, US, and Germany. Part of the problem with its old system was that it was operating different solutions in the UK and US markets that was "failing to give it visibility across countries" and making it tough to expand.

Neil Thursby, head of technology at Barbour, stated that the business required a more robust solution that was suited to its international expansion rather than operating disparate systems around the world. We realised we needed a system ideally geared towards the clothing industry, with international support as we expand, operating in different languages, time zones and tax regimes," he said.

This will enable Barbour to take a much fuller advantage of its planned new e-commerce site that is expected to become operational in August.